Chet Valley Vineyard Community harvest starting on Saturday the 7th October

We have had a good year on the vineyard with lots of sunshine in early September. The grapes are ripening nicely and are looking as though they will be ready to harvest on Saturday the 7th October and subsequent weekends, 14/15th and 21st/22nd October depending on the weather and the acid/sugar levels nearer the time.

If you would like to join our community harvest we welcome volunteers for this very sociable event. We provide snacks and lunch during the day, a harvest supper, and open some wine in the evening for our amazing volunteers too! If you would like to join us for the grape harvest I just need to know how many of you are intending to attend and do you have special dietary requirements?

We need you to bring your own secateurs or scissors to cut the bunches of grapes plus gardening gloves to protect your hands. Please bring your own water bottle too if you can.

Please could you arrive between 08:30 and 09:00 at the winery at Chet Valley vineyard where you can park your car  or bicycle if you have one. You will be directed to the plot where we are picking and then you’ll be shown the grapes that need picking. Not all the varieties are ripe and ready to harvest yet so please be careful to only pick the ones you are told to. Some of our rows are a mix of grape varieties so these may be picked by staff members. Please do not pick any grapes until you have had clear instructions to pick them. If in doubt please do ask either John or myself or Chris Bewick who will be directing people on the vineyard.

Thanks for volunteering to help us. We will be providing snacks of bacon butties mid morning around 11-ish, lunch with soup rolls, salad, cake tea/coffee/cake at 13:30-ish, then another tea/coffee/cake break at 4-ish and a supper at around 18:00 at the winery with a glass of Chet Valley wine. There will be vegetarian alternatives but I need to know numbers please. I do tell everyone that it’s a good idea to bring a water bottle too, but tea, coffee, squash and water are also available plus some snacks. The loo is downstairs at the winery

We look forward to seeing you!

If you would like to know more from previous harvest volunteers about their experience click here.

If you think you enjoy a day in the vineyard please email stating your interest to info@chetvineyard.co.uk

✂️🍇 bring secateurs 

✂️🍇 bring suitable footwear and clothing

✂️🍇 bring sun screen + hat if sunny

✂️🍇 food is provided throughout the day

✂️🍇 harvest supper at the end of Saturday picking days 

✂️🍇 watch out on social media for updates

✂️🍇 exact picking dates depend on grape ripeness and weather!

So do please contact us to register for our community harvest days info@chetvineyard.co.uk or ring us on 01508 333002